The Land Spirit Pokemon. Tapu Bulu sets Grassy Terrain boosting Grass moves and healing grounded Pokemon. Grass/Fairy with Wood Hammer for powerful physical same-type attacks.
Ability 1Grassy SurgeAbility 1When this Pokémon enters battle, it changes the terrain to Grassy Terrain.
570HP70Attack130Defense115Speed75Sp.Def95Sp.Atk85
Weak to
Immune to
Physical
Wallbreaker
UTier
75Speed · Below Avg

Tapu Bulu Best Moveset

AbilityGrassy Surge sets Grassy Terrain on entry, healing 1/16 HP per turn for grounded Pokemon and boosting Grass damage by 30%. 130 Attack with Grass/Fairy TermStab hits hard physically with the terrain boost. A-tier because the passive healing and physical power support the entire team.

SABCDEFSASun & Moon / USUMVIISM/USUMPEAKSword & Shield / BDSPVIIISS/BDSPCURRENT
★Gen VII — Sun & Moon / USUMS

Grassy Surge set Grassy Terrain on entry in Gen VII (Sun & Moon). Horn Leech healed more in terrain, and Earthquake damage was halved for grounded Pokemon. The defensive Tapu.

Z-Moves became available

Best Moves

SRCMOVETYPECATPWRPOPROLE
Lv 32
Horn Leech
Grass75COMMONSTAB
Lv 1
Superpower
Fighting120COMMONCoverage
TM71
Stone Edge
Rock100COMMONCoverage
Lv 1
Wood Hammer
Grass120COMMONSTAB
TM75
Swords Dance
Normal—RAREUtility
TM17
Protect
Normal—RAREPriority
Tapu Bulu Sun & Moon MovesTapu Bulu Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon Moves

Best Build

Experimental
Bulky Support
Ability
Grassy Surge
Item
LeftoversSUSTAIN
Best Nature for Tapu Bulu
Careful+SPD

Tapu Bulu best EVs are Sp. Def and HP

EVs

Bulky Support Moveset

  • Horn LeechSTAB
  • SuperpowerCoverage
  • Stone Edge
  • Wood HammerSTAB

Recommended Teammates

Heatran
HeatranDecent
Landorus-Therian
Landorus-TherianDecent
Greninja
GreninjaDecent
↓Gen VIII — Sword & Shield / BDSPA

Dropped in Gen VIII (Sword & Shield). Rillaboom did the Grassy Surge job with Grassy Glide priority, which Tapu Bulu lacked. Outclassed by a newer terrain setter.

Gigantamax became availableDynamax became available
SRCMOVETYPECATPWRPOPROLE
Lv 40
Horn Leech
Grass75COMMONSTAB
TR48
Bulk Up
Fighting—COMMONUtility
TR20
Substitute
Normal—COMMONUtility
TR93
Darkest Lariat
Dark85COMMONCoverage
TR53
Close Combat
Fighting120RARECoverage
Tapu Bulu Sword & Shield Moves
Experimental
Physical Tank
Ability
Grassy Surge
Item
LeftoversSUSTAIN
Best Nature for Tapu Bulu
Adamant+ATK
EVs

Physical Tank Moveset

  • Horn LeechSTAB
  • Bulk Up
  • SubstituteUtility
  • Darkest Lariat

Recommended Teammates

Landorus-Therian
Landorus-TherianGood
Grimmsnarl
GrimmsnarlGood
Keldeo
KeldeoGood

Tapu Bulu Weakness

Tapu Bulu's Grass/Fairy typing leaves it vulnerable to Poison, Fire, Ice, Flying, and Steel. Poison hits land at 4x, so they're the biggest threat. It shrugs off Dragon-type attacks completely. With 6 resistances, the defensive profile is strong. Tapu Bulu's overall bulk (70/115/95) lets it take a hit or two from most weaknesses before going down.

Tapu Bulu Weakness and Resistance Chart
DamageTypes
4x (Critical)Poison
2x (Weak)Fire, Ice, Flying, Steel
0.5x (Resist)Water, Electric, Grass, Fighting, Ground, Dark
0x (Immune)Dragon

What is Tapu Bulu Weak Against

Vulnerable
5Weak
6Resist
1Immune
Score-3
4xCritical
Poison
2xWeak
FireIceFlyingSteel
½xResist
WaterElectricGrassFightingGroundDark
¼xResist
None
0xImmune
Dragon

What is Tapu Bulu Strong Against

6Strong
3Resisted
0Immune
Score+3
2xStrong
WaterFightingGroundRockDragonDark
½xResisted
FirePoisonSteel
0xImmune
None

Best Pokemon Against Tapu Bulu

Ting-Lu
Ting-Lu
A
Alomomola
Alomomola
A
Hippowdon
Hippowdon
B
Tyranitar
Tyranitar
B
Araquanid
Araquanid
B

Evolution

You can't breed Tapu Bulu or evolve it into anything else. This Grass/Fairy legendary packs 570 stats and doesn't need a chain to be relevant. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.

How to Evolve

No Evolution
Tapu Bulu
#787Tapu BuluDoes not evolve

Breeding

Unavailable
Undiscovered egg group

Shiny Tapu Bulu

A slightly different shade of red-orange on Tapu Bulu's shell. Like Lele, the change is nearly invisible in battle. Two out of four Tapus getting forgettable shinies when Koko got black? That stings.

Normal vs Shiny
Normal Tapu BuluNormal
Shiny Tapu Bulu Shiny
Color ShiftRedtoGray
Shiny TierC Tier Shiny

Shiny Tapu Bulu Evolution

Does Not Evolve
Tapu Bulu does not evolve
Single-stage PokemonView Full Evolution Chart

Shiny Tapu Bulu Odds & Hunting Methods

3 of 3 Verified
GameBest MethodOddsDifficulty
GameSword & Shield
MethodDynamax Adventure (Max Lair)Max LairBest odds require Crown Tundra DLC
Odds1/100
Difficulty
No shiny in these games
This Pokemon has no obtainable shiny form here.
GameSun & Moon
MethodShiny locked
Odds—
Difficulty—
GameUltra Sun & Ultra Moon
MethodShiny lockedShiny only via event distributionIn-game Ruins of Abundance Tapu Bulu is shiny-locked; a Shiny Tapu Bulu 'Ula'ula' was distributed for USUM (2019 International Challenge February reward) - the only legit shiny path.
Odds—
Difficulty—
More dots = harder hunt1/200 Green = best verified rate
How do we research these odds?

We check every game where a shiny is possible, then rank each one by the best method available in that game, so the row at the top is the fastest route overall.

Odds marked verified are cross-checked against multiple independent sources before we publish them. Where a rate is not yet confirmed we mark the row pending rather than guess a number.

Read our full methodology

Tapu Bulu Locations

1 location for Tapu Bulu in endgame routes. Scroll the list below and pick whichever spot sits closest to your current route.

Best Locations to Catch Tapu Bulu in Sword & Shield

Max Lair
Lv.70Dynamax Adventure
Dynamax Adventure final boss

Base Stats

Attack and Defense carry most of Tapu Bulu's stat budget. HP's the obvious dump stat. Near-impossible to catch and yields 3 Attack EVs. Follows a slow 1.25M XP grind.

Base Stats
Pseudo
HP70
C
Attack130
A
Defense115
B
Sp. Atk85
C
Sp. Def95
B
Speed75
C
Total570
Details
Catch Rate
Legendary3 / 255
Growth Rate
Slow1.25M XP
Height1.9 m
6'03"Average
Weight45.5 kg
100.3 lbsLight
Base XP257
High Yield
Abilities
Grassy Surge
When this Pokémon enters battle, it changes the terrain to Grassy Terrain.
TelepathyHidden Ability
Protects against friendly Pokémon's damaging moves.
EV Yield
HPAtk+3DefSpASpDSpe
Strong Attack training target
Pokedex Entry

It makes ringing sounds with its tail to let others know where it is, avoiding unneeded conflicts. This guardian deity of Ula’ula controls plants.

Pokemon Ultra Moon

Tapu Bulu Event Distributions

Tapu Bulu is available only through a single Mystery Gift event distribution.

Shiny Tapu Bulu giftUltra SunUltra MoonAlways shiny
Lv 60 OT: Ula'ula Cherish Ball Classic Ribbon 3 guaranteed max IVs
Moves: Natures Madness, Zen Headbutt, Megahorn, Skull Bash

Tapu Bulu Guide

  • Use Tapu Bulu as a wallbreaker. Physical side carries the damage. Speed is middling,

  • Telepathy is the hidden ability. Protects against friendly Pokémon's damaging moves. Not always the best choice. Compare it to Tapu Bulu's regular abilities before committing.

  • Build your team around Sableye Mega, Blissey, and Toxapex. These have the highest co-usage rates with Tapu Bulu in competitive formats. They cover each other's weaknesses.

  • Run Impish on Tapu Bulu. +Defense is what matters, and the -Sp. Atk cut doesn't hurt this set. Fits the wallbreaker role.

Game Availability

First obtainable in Sun & Moon, Tapu Bulu has been featured in 3 titles across 3 generations. Legendary status means a single encounter per playthrough in most games.

Click a game to view version-specific details

Explore

Where to go next after Tapu Bulu.

Next stepPokedexBrowse the full Pokedex for every gameSee Pokedex
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